First anniversary of Tower Hamlets Labour landslide

Friday 3rd May marked the first anniversary of the local elections in Tower Hamlets which saw a Labour landslide with the re-election of Mayor John Biggs and the election of 42 Labour councillors.

The election was a turning point for the borough and all but one of the disgraced former mayor’s councillors originally elected under the banner of ‘Tower Hamlets First’ lost their council seats to Labour.

The Mayor and Labour councillors highlighted a number of successes from the last year and manifesto targets met, including the investment in new council housing schemes and temporary accommodation, investment in a new team of anti-social behaviour enforcement officers, an expansion of the Tackling Poverty Fund and keeping all libraries, Idea Stores, leisure centres and children’s centres open despite massive government cuts to council funding.

Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs said: “I’m very proud of everything we have achieved over the last year as a Labour team since the election.

“It’s incredibly tough for local councils today in the age of Tory austerity, but by having a clear set of priorities we’ve been able to invest in frontline services and protect the things that people in Tower Hamlets really value. We’re investing millions in additional police officers, our waste service, council homes and services for our children and young people.

“The election in 2018 was a turning point for the borough but voters sent a clear message that the borough has firmly moved on from the chaos of the past. I’m glad we’ve been able to build on that and move the borough even further forward. We’ll be absolutely focussed over the next 3 years in delivering the rest of our manifesto pledges.”